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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22555231">Rufus and Reggie Drabbles (Valentine's)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zephyrous/pseuds/Zephyrous'>Zephyrous</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Flash Fiction, Fluff, M/M, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 17:16:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,176</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22555231</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zephyrous/pseuds/Zephyrous</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>(Part of maomaosmother 2020 Valentine's Event)</p><p>A collection of chapters approximately 1k words in length exploring a romantic relationship between Rufus and Reggie per situations proposed in the prompts.</p><p>(Quick shoutout to @shapeshiftinterest on Tumblr for inspiring me to write these drabbles with Rufus and Reggie in mind! Go check out their art; it's great!)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Reggie/Rufus (Mao Mao)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A Chance Meeting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     A barrel was pushed over as a white and red fox ran by, apples spilling over the cobbled street and causing guards to slip and slam into the wooden stalls.</p>
<p>     “Stop, thief!” a voice bellowed as Rufus turned a corner into an alley, clambering up a pile of wooden crates to jump over a fence. Landing softly on his feet, Rufus pressed his back against the wall, trying to steady his breathing as he heard the guards continue to shout for his capture. Slowly, the voices faded into the distance. As the regular bustle of the town resumed, Rufus sighed and slumped his shoulders.</p>
<p>     “Hello!”</p>
<p>     Rufus instantly seized up and hid the brown package behind his back as he heard a voice whisper to him. Looking with wild eyes, his gaze fell upon a small, purple raccoon that was poking his head out of a slipshod tent. The most striking thing to Rufus, though, was his goofy grin.</p>
<p>     “Erm…” Rufus looked around the alley, “hello?” he asked hesitantly. He didn’t want to raise any alarm, but he needed to find some way out.</p>
<p>     “Wow, it’s not often I get visitors!” The raccoon said, crawling out from behind the flaps. Sitting down onto the cobble, he extended a hand. “My name is Reggie. What’s yours?”</p>
<p>     Rufus stared at the waving hand for a second. “I, uh, don’t have one,” Rufus said, looking past the tent into the rest of the alleyway.</p>
<p>     “What?” Reggie pouted. “Oh, no! What happened?”</p>
<p>     “My parents forgot to, or something.”</p>
<p>     “That’s not very nice.”</p>
<p>     “Most people in this world are not, naive Reggie,” Rufus stood up for a moment, brushing off some dirt that had made its way onto his legs.</p>
<p>     Reggie lifted his head, peering behind the fox’s tail and spotting the brown package. “What’s that you’ve got there?”</p>
<p>     Quickly realizing his mistake, Rufus snatched up the small box, clutching it to his chest and turning away. “This is, uh,” the fox stumbled over his words, “a personal asset of mine.”</p>
<p>     “What’s an ‘asset?’”</p>
<p>     “Nothing that should concern you,” Rufus replied in annoyance.</p>
<p>     “Check everywhere! We need to find that fox!” the voices grew louder once again, causing Rufus to freeze. He wouldn’t be able to make it out of the alleyway right now, and climbing over the fence would create too much noise.</p>
<p>     Without warning, Rufus dashed into the tent, knocking Reggie over with a soft plop.</p>
<p>     “Oh, I haven’t prepared any tea for guests yet!” Reggie gasped as he tried standing.</p>
<p>     From inside the tent, Rufus heard steps grow closer, signaling the arrival of a guard. The fox covered his mouth as he clutched the package closer to his chest.</p>
<p>     “You there,” the guard began, addressing the raccoon as he clumsily came up again, “have you seen a criminal? A fox, last seen holding a brown parcel?”</p>
<p>     Rufus’s heart shattered. This raccoon didn’t seem terribly bright, and he’d probably rat him out any minute now. This was the end of the line for him. A youthhood, not even long enough to call a lifetime, of thieving and being on the lam alone, all for naught at the hands of a doe-eyed raccoon. He closed his eyes, preparing to be tackled any moment, the cloth suffocating him.</p>
<p>     “Not that I can remember!” Reggie chuckled.</p>
<p>     Rufus opened his eyes, confused.</p>
<p>     "Okay. Please report to your local officers if you happen to see him.” Rufus heard the guard begin walking again, his steps fading into the distance.</p>
<p>     Rufus stared at the wall of the tent for a moment in disbelief, before his eyes turned back to Reggie crawling in again. “Sorry, it’s such a mess!” the raccoon said, even though there wasn’t anything in the tent.</p>
<p>     “Y-you…” Rufus cleared his throat, “lied for me?” he asked in astonishment. The fox wasn’t used to anyone being there in his defense, much less a stranger that he had just met a mere few minutes ago.</p>
<p>     “Lie? Why would you say that about me?” Reggie frowned. “I wouldn’t lie.”</p>
<p>     “He was asking for a fox with a brown parcel. You lied to him about seeing me.”</p>
<p>     “He asked for a <em> criminal </em>. Criminals are bad, and you don't seem bad to me,” Reggie smiled. “Plus,” he pointed to the box Rufus was still holding close to his chest, “that’s your personal ‘asset,’ not a ‘parcel.’”</p>
<p>     Rufus could only blink as he tried to process Reggie’s words. Faintly, he chuckled, which eventually grew to laughter. Reggie, not knowing what was so funny, joined in too.</p>
<p>     “Wow,” Rufus wheezed, “you are something else, what was it, Reggie?”</p>
<p>     “I don’t know what was funny, but I’m glad I made you laugh!” he beamed.</p>
<p>     Rufus pondered for a moment. The town was probably still on high alert for his appearance. With the package, there was no way he’d be able to get it out on his own.</p>
<p><em>      However </em> , he looked over to Reggie, who was staring intensely at the fox with puppy eyes, almost as if expecting some sort of response or command. If <em> he </em> could carry the package, Rufus could meet up with him on the outskirts of town. Surely, a raccoon going about his business with a brown box was nothing out of the ordinary; people dropped off mail here and there all the time.</p>
<p>     “Reggie,” Rufus began, turning his torso back to the raccoon, “would you mind helping me with something?”</p>
<p>     Reggie’s smiled widened. “I love helping! What am I helping with?”</p>
<p>     “Well, before we do that,” Rufus tapped a finger against his chin, “If you are to be my partner in this scheme, I mean, <em>task,</em> you'll need a proper nickname from here on out. Reg should work well enough.”</p>
<p>     “Yay!” Reggie clapped softly. “What should I call you?”</p>
<p>     Rufus realized his mistake of telling Reggie he didn’t have a name. It would be awkward to explain he had lied to him now.</p>
<p>     “You can call me Rufus,” the fox smiled, disregarding the fact that he had told Reggie he didn’t have a name.</p>
<p>     “I like that! You must be really smart to think of a name like that.”</p>
<p>     “Yes, quite,” Rufus wiped a single bead of sweat that was running down his temple. “Now, my dear Reg,” Rufus scooted closer and placed a hand on the raccoon’s shoulder. At that moment, an ineffable feeling coursed through his body. He couldn’t discern anything about it, but it was a feeling of importance. A feeling of something new. Something welcomed.</p>
<p>     “Here’s the plan,” Rufus continued with a sly smile.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Paper Airplane</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     “And if you crease it along this line right here,” Rufus said, pinching the corners of the paper together, proceeding to run his hand down the fold with pressure, “you get a neat little plane.” Rufus held the airplane up, displaying his creation to a wide-eyed Reggie.</p><p>     “Wow!” Reggie whispered. “That’s so cool! Is this what you call origami?”</p><p>     Rufus twirled the airplane around, examining it with a soft hum. “I hardly believe so, my dear Reg.” He flung it into the air, watching as the tip soared through the sky, before turning around and gliding gently around the duo. “Yet, I don’t think it wrong to say a simple airplane is a good introduction to the art, yes.”</p><p>     Reggie stood up from the grass, opening a small satchel the two had procured through questionable means a while back. “Do you have more paper? I wanna try one,” Reggie asked as he continued looking through the bag.</p><p>     “In fact, I do,” Rufus lifted another sheet from his own satchel and passed it to Reggie. As he did, the raccoon grinned, before dashing off in a hurry. “Hey, where are you going?” Rufus asked in puzzlement, watching Reggie’s stubby legs carry him across the hill.</p><p>     “I’m gonna make a plane!” Reggie yelled from a distance, stopping at a tree stump, and getting to work. </p><p>     Rufus considered the actions curious. Creating a paper airplane wasn’t so hard that one needed a flat surface, right? Maybe Reggie was self-conscious about how his final product would look. Proportions are rather tricky in measuring, folding, and creasing to get a plane with nice aerodynamics. The fox would just have to reassure him that his plane was of exceptional quality.</p><p>     Placing his palms behind his torso, Rufus leaned back and relaxed, staring as a few leaves drifted in the breeze. They were currently between jobs, doing small heists here and there as they looked for their next town to con. It wasn’t honest work, but in these intermediate periods where the two were alone, simply traveling and taking in the sights, Rufus could almost forget about his villainy. Not that it bothered him, no. Not at all. Yet, the tranquility that came with traversing a vast expanse of grass with a sole partner by your side was something still new to him. He wasn’t alone anymore, which was the most shocking thing of all. There were, of course, moments when Rufus considered if he had done the right thing dragging Reggie into his lifestyle. The raccoon was gullible, indeed, but he was honest and gentle, quite the antithesis of the sly fox. It almost made him feel guilty, in some strange, inexplicable way.</p><p>     “Rufus!” Reggie called, snapping the fox out of his blank gaze. The raccoon waved in the distance, with the plane in hand. Even at a distance, Rufus could see the proportioning errors, with a wing too long here, the body creased in strange ways, and the point dented in two different ways. In all honesty, it looked very aerophobic. Reggie beamed as he lifted the paper into the air, before hurling it towards Rufus.</p><p>     It swayed in various directions, but Rufus was surprised when the plane stayed afloat. Going left and right, the paper soared through the crisp air, causing the fox to look at it in amazement. </p><p>     Suddenly, though, a strong gust of wind hit the hill, causing Rufus to be taken aback. As he was pushed to the ground, the plane caught the breeze, soaring directly past the fox.</p><p>     “Wait, no!” Reggie yelled, beginning to run back. “That was supposed to go to you!”</p><p>     Rufus looked up, seeing the deformed paper continue its dance through the air. “Ah!” he exclaimed, struggling to stand in the fierce breeze. “It’s getting away!”</p><p>     “You need to see it!” Reggie cried.</p><p>     Tapping his hands to his cheeks, Rufus began running after it as well, “The plane we shall catch, then!”</p><p>* * *</p><p>     Reggie sat on the ground, happily bouncing the plane between his two hands as a tired, heavy-breathing Rufus lay face first in the grass. Reggie patted Rufus on the head twice, “Thank you!”</p><p>     “Any...thing,” he wheezed, “for my partner.”</p><p>     “But, this is still for you!” The raccoon lay down beside the fox, bumping the crumpled tip against Rufus’s head.</p><p>     Rufus looked up to his side, seeing Reggie waving the plane in front of his eyes. Slowly, the fox took the paper, examining it from every angle. “Surely, you have a knack for this,” he smiled.</p><p>     “No, no,” Reggie shook his head, “open it up!”</p><p>     Rufus looked confused. “Open it? What about your plane, your lovely creation?”</p><p>     “I can always make more in the future,” Reggie bounced as he tapped his hands against the ground, eagerly waiting for the fox to unravel the plane.</p><p>     Rufus returned his eyes to the plane, undoing the creases and folds, the faulty measures, and straightening out the bends wherever he could. As the plane came undone, he saw the pencil appear from behind the folds in amazement, forming the beginning of words.</p><p>     As the paper finally returned to its unaltered form, given with all the extra creases, the message lay perfectly clear on the page.</p><p>
  <em> Thank you for asking me to be your partner. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I always have fun traveling with you. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I love you, Rufus! </em>
</p><p>     “So,” Reggie wiggled closer, looking expectantly at the fox. “Do you like it?”</p><p>     In these few words, Rufus’s insecurities about <em>roping </em>Reggie into his own lifestyle were resolved. He told himself he wouldn’t grief or be bothered, but now he was certain such a tiny insecure thought would vanish for good.</p><p>     “I love it,” Rufus smiled, looking away to wipe a tear that had appeared in the corner of his eye. “Thank you, Reg. It’s a perfect paper airplane.”</p><p>     Reggie grinned, swaying side to side in happiness.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Kleptomaniacs</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>     Rufus tapped on the side of the glass, focusing on the soft </span>
  <em>
    <span>clink</span>
  </em>
  <span> and the ripples that formed in the water, shooting out and colliding together on the surface.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     “What’cha doing?” Reggie asked as he put his hands on the table cloth and leaned forward.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     “Oh, n-nothing,” Rufus laughed, picking up the glass to take a sip.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     The duo were situated in a small restaurant, busy with lunch-goers and casual Saturday reunions. They have been making progress on their latest scheme, but Reggie commented that they should eat something, being notified by his rumbling stomach. However, Reggie had suggested something else in the process, too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>     “Do you want to make it a date?” the raccoon asked, walking as he swung a brown pouch left and right.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>     “H-Huh?” Rufus asked, taken aback.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Sure, it had already been about a week or so since they had officially expressed their feelings for each other, but Rufus had been so busy putting together their latest scheme that many of the romantic aspects of being in a relationship fell to the back of his mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Reggie sat back down, lifting up the menu again and staring at the various entree options. “I’m so glad we finally have a chance to sit and eat!” he beamed. “This place has good food, too!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     “Yes, quite,” Rufus nodded, running his finger down the pictures of the appetizers. “A very relaxing atmosphere, too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     That was a lie. Rufus was </span>
  <em>
    <span>nervous</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and insanely so. His finger ran down the menu not to parse his options, but to merely keep his hands moving. Without the list, his hands would probably be under the table, thumbs twiddling as he searched for words. Even now, he wasn’t entirely sure what to talk about. What did couples do on their first date? It’s not like he could use icebreaker questions; Rufus pretty much knew everything about his partner, the two having traveled together for a while now. Luckily, the raccoon was mostly preoccupied with the menu, occasionally repeating the names of the items that intrigued him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     That was until he stopped. Rufus, hearing his partner’s silence, looked up from the menu to see Reggie staring at him with a smile, having placed the menu down. The fox’s heart raced. He didn’t expect Reggie to spark conversation, but it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> a date. He needed to think of something fast.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     “Do you…” Rufus looked around the table with wild eyes, scanning for a topic of some sort, until they landed on a rather flashy object. Picking up the utensil, he continued, “Ah, do you see how elegant this silverware looks?” He wore a nervous grin while Reggie hummed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     The raccoon went to pick up his own fork. “Yeah, it’s super sparkly!” he laughed. “It makes me feel funny, like the time I went to that plaza in…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Rufus gave a mental sigh as Reggie continued on a random tangent. It wasn’t a terribly romantic topic of conversation, nor even a good conversation. Even so, Reggie seemed to be enjoying talking about the fork and any random thoughts that arose from it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     “Even the little gem on the handle is so cute!” Reggie said, still waving the fork back and forth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Rufus continued to nod as he stared at the utensil lazily. As Reggie kept talking, though, Rufus’s eyes began to focus on its details. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> look like a rather well-put-together fork, more so than most restaurants are willing to spend on utensils. The way the yellow pattern circled the gemstone. His mind couldn’t help but wonder what the specific stone was. ‘Twas faux, obviously, but to the untrained eye, it could easily pass for the real thing. And passing it for the real thing could probably produce a pretty penny from some oblivious customer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Rufus hesitated, his breath stopping for a second. Slowly, his hands pulled the fork closer to his chest. “I’m…sure the restaurant won’t miss one measly fork,” he whispered with a smirk, tucking the fork into the inside of his vest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Reggie gasped, alerting Rufus. The raccoon was staring at the fox with wide eyes. Rufus instantly froze up and regretted the decision, his mind racing. Of course, they were thieves, but this was supposed to be a </span>
  <em>
    <span>date.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Would Reggie be horrified that, even when they were supposed to be having a sweet and romantic time, Rufus couldn’t help but steal?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     “R-Reg, it’s not like-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     “I want one too!” he excitedly grinned, taking his fork and shoving it into the brown pouch he had brought in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Rufus simply watched in amazement, bewildered by the raccoon’s response.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     But it didn’t stop there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Reggie reached out towards the spoon, picking it up. “Why stop at the fork?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Rufus looked on as Reggie placed the spoon in the bag too, shaking it slightly and hearing the jingle of the utensils. He began to chuckle. “You’re brilliant, Reg,” he clapped softly, “but why stop at an uncompleted set?” Rufus took his spoon and knife, placing them in an interior pocket on his vest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     “Even the napkin looks good!” the raccoon laughed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     “Look at these salt shakers.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     “What about the tiny plates?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     “Don’t forget the large ones, too!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     “Oh, or this cup!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     “Sirs?” a voice interrupted from the side as Reggie and Rufus froze in place. Their laughing had attracted the attention of a waiter, and practically the rest of the restaurant. The table they had been seated at was almost barren now, and Rufus’s vest and Reggie’s pouch were filled to the brim with the miscellaneous objects they had decided to swipe.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Rufus looked to the waiter, who wore a face of shock as if he was still processing the scenario, for surely no one in their establishment would go as far as to steal an entire table.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Except, of course, these two.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Rufus grabbed Reggie by the hand, and leaped off the table, knocking it over as the waiter began to shout for their capture. “Sorry, Reg!” Rufus shouted as they weaved through the crowd and security personnel. “It seems we’ll have to host our date somewhere else.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     “It’s okay; this is fun!” Reggie laughed, swinging around the heavy bag and clobbering various waiters as they tried to catch the two thieves. “Dates are supposed to be fun!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     The duo dashed out of the restaurant as Rufus began planning for a new scheme with all the extra merchandise, as well as another location to host a </span>
  <em>
    <span>proper</span>
  </em>
  <span> first date where they could focus on each other without giving in to villainous temptations.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Stars and Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     There wasn’t much out there when Reggie peeked out from the flap of the tent, looking to where Rufus lay on the grass. Another day had passed out in the open, wandering from one job to find the next. Another day of roaming, aimlessly so.</p><p>     Reggie walked over to his partner. Rufus tilted his head back as he heard Reggie’s stubby legs carry him across the field.</p><p>     “Say, Reg,”  the fox began as Reggie sat beside him, “what do you want to do tomorrow?”</p><p>     “Hm…” Reggie picked a blade of grass, releasing it and watching as it was carried by a gentle breeze. “I dunno! Keep moving?”</p><p>     “Right,” Rufus chuckled. “That’s a start.” </p><p>     Keep moving on, but <em> whereto </em>? That had been their plan for the past few weeks now. Arrive somewhere new, swindle here and there, and move on to the next town. Keep moving, keep wandering. Set up a tent in the middle of nowhere and realize there’s no one around. Nor any home.</p><p>     Rufus gripped at the grass by his side. It wasn’t the material aspect of having a house or a roof over his head. No, it was the realization that there wasn’t a <em> home </em> for Rufus, always welcoming and waiting for him to return to with people that loved him. Heaven knows where his mother was now, not that she’d ever want to see him again. Even so, there was an emptiness left by family that he hadn’t fully managed to fill yet.</p><p>     “Rufus, look!” Reggie exclaimed, snapping the fox out of his trance-like state. Rufus saw Reggie lift his hand into the air, and followed his index finger to the sky where hundreds upon hundreds of stared twinkled softly.</p><p>     “The night is quite pretty tonight, isn’t she?” Rufus smiled. “What did you want to point my attention to, though?”</p><p>     “There’s one of those pattern thingies, over there!” Reggie lifted his other arm, trying to connect various stars, which only made it look as if he was failing his arms around wildly in the air. “A condensation!”</p><p>     Rufus chuckled. “Do you mean a constellation, sweetheart?”</p><p>     “Yeah! That’s the one. The Big Diaper!”</p><p>     Rufus burst out laughing, reaching over to grab Reggie and bringing the raccoon into a tight embrace. “It’s called the Big Dipper, silly,” he said in between his bouts.</p><p>     “Isn’t that what I said?” </p><p>     “Close enough for me to infer,” the fox said, planting a kiss on Reggie’s head as he leaned back and stared into the stars, still holding the raccoon atop his torso.</p><p>     The two lay for a moment, merely relishing in each other's company. There was tranquility in this scene, yes. Even so, in the silence the question bore its way back into Rufus’s head. Silence was a cruel demon, interrupting even the most peaceful of scenes. Rufus had to say something, or else the question would most likely gnaw at him even more.</p><p>     “Reg, what do you think makes something a home?” Rufus asked.</p><p>     “A roof and four walls?”</p><p>     “Heh, not like that. I mean, like, somewhere welcoming. Somewhere you feel you can, you know,” Rufus hesitated, “just be and not be questioned for being.”</p><p>     Reggie stayed quiet for a second, softly rubbing his hand against Rufus’s side, feeling the fur. Rufus considered the possibility that maybe the question had been worded in a bizarre and abstract way. Possibly a little too much for his slightly more simple-minded companion.  “Let me, uh, rephrase-”</p><p>     “I think,” Reggie began, interrupting Rufus suddenly, “a roof is nice. Walls, too, or even a fireplace!” Reggie turned around so that he could look the fox in the face. Rufus saw a glimmer in Reggie’s eyes as he said, “I think, though, home is where you feel happy!”</p><p>     “But, where do you feel happy?” Rufus said with a twinge of desperation. It was his definition of a home, but had Reggie found himself a home while he still struggled to look for that comfort? Where? Where did he find it?</p><p>     Reggie proceeded to laugh, catching the fox off guard. “Here!” he exclaimed, and with that, Reggie proceeded to wrap his arms around the fox’s neck and place his head under his chin. “Home is where you feel okay, no matter what, right?” he asked, referring back to Rufus’s question. “When I’m with you, I’m not just okay, I’m happy!”</p><p>     Rufus pondered his words as he felt Reggie nuzzle the underside of his chin. He didn’t know what to say. Instead, a feeling bubbled inside of him, a motley of ineffable emotions, incapable of expression nor vocalization. It was something he could only feel as a smile grew on his face once more.</p><p>     “I think,” Rufus began again, “we can go with your plan and keep moving.” Rufus paused as he looked up to the stars, bringing up a hand to caress Reggie’s cheek. “However, this time, we can have a direction. At night, we’ll look upon this sky again and search for the North Star.”</p><p>     “Oh, is that the brightest star in the sky!”</p><p>     “I do believe so, Reggie. Even now,” Rufus pointed upward, “the star shines so brilliantly. It speaks of promise, hope, and a place we can call our own. This time, a home with a roof and four walls.”</p><p>     “Oh, that’d be so cool!"</p><p>     “Would it not?” Rufus repeated. “Of course, we’ll still continue our scheming in the warmth of day, but at night, we can look up to her sky and see the star again, setting our course in its direction.”</p><p>     “Just us two?”</p><p>     “There’s no one else I’d rather view it with,” Rufus concluded as he let out a long sigh. His partner was right: any happiness or comfort could make a home. It didn’t have to be a permanent location nor even a group of people. Home could simply be in the arms of your love, where acceptance didn’t have to be earned, nor did affection have to be asked.</p><p>     That’s right; he did have a home where he could be himself without needing a reason to be. Embracing Reggie, he felt he was his true self, filling the emptiness of a place where he was welcomed.</p>
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